AAP MLA Sharad Chauhan granted bail in Soni’s suicide case

AAP MLA Sharad Chauhan was on Thursday granted bail by the Rohini sessions court. Chauhan along with seven others was arrested by the Delhi Police Crime branch on July 31 for abetting the suicide of AAP woman worker Soni

Ramesh Bhardwaj, a close associate of Chauhan and had often used his name to threaten Soni. (PTI)

AAP MLA Sharad Chauhan was on Thursday granted bail by the Rohini sessions court. Chauhan along with seven others was arrested by the Delhi Police Crime branch on July 31 for abetting the suicide of AAP woman worker Soni. The latter was an AAP volunteer who had allegedly killed herself in Delhi’s Narela area. Soon after her death, BJP held the party responsible for it, while AAP hit back by accusing the latter of engaging in “politics over corpses.”

She had allegedly killed herself after the man accused of molesting her, Ramesh Bhardwaj was released on bail. Soni’s husband, Ashok Mishra claimed it was a case of murder, not suicide. “She was suffering from depression for two months. The pressure on her was mounting… she was being stalked by goons. Police did not do anything,” said Mishra.

Ramesh Bhardwaj, a close associate of Chauhan and had often used his name to threaten Soni. “The MLA and the other accused had helped Bharadwaj in harassing the woman, creating circumstances in which she took the extreme step. He had also been shielding Bharadwaj and guiding Bharadwaj at every step — from diluting the initial complaint to bribing the investigating officer to go slow on the molestation complaint,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said.

After her death the BJP had questioned party supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s “silence” over the issue saying, “Why is the Chief Minister not tweeting now.. he has a habit of tweeting even on minor things… he should take responsibility for Soni’s death.”